IYA2009 Update

13 February 2009

Dear Friends,

Some short updates from the past week:

100 Hours of Astronomy:

Press Release: 100 Hours of Astronomy project kicks off! IYA2009) is about to reach new heights as the Global Cornerstone Project, 100 Hours of Astronomy, scheduled to take place from 2-5 April 2009, ramps up. The project invites amateur astronomers, educators, professional astronomers, planetaria, science centres and more to arrange events around the world during this 4-day period and to publicise them now on the project website. For those wishing to visit the frontiers of astronomy from their home, a 24-hour webcast from the largest telescopes on the planet will take a unique look behind the scenes at state of the art research facilities. http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/pressreleases/detail/iya0904/

100 Hours of Astronomy Cornerstone Project UPDATE!: The excitement is building for the 100 Hours of Astronomy project, an unprecedented outreach event taking place around the world 2 - 5 April. The 100 Hours of Astronomy Task Group has many resources and programs available on the official web site at http://www.100hoursofastronomy.org. We hope you'll visit to see what's available and spread the word to people in your country or organization: http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/150/

100 Hours of Astronomy Poster: IYA2009 is about to reach new heights as the Global Cornerstone Project, 100 Hours of Astronomy, scheduled to take place from 2-5 April 2009, ramps up. And now thanks James White, 100HA has a new amazing poster: http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/149/

JENAM2009 Symposium: IYA2009 in Europe, JENA2009, 20 - 23 April 2009, Uni. Hertfordshire, UK The International Year of Astronomy 2009 is a fantastic opportunity for astronomers around the world, and in particular, in Europe to showcase the excitement and challenges of astronomy today. This symposium focuses on two key aspects of IYA2009: outreach in terms of communicating astronomy with the public; the educational value of astronomy in attracting young people into science and technology studies at school and beyond. The latter is deliberately meant to be wide-ranging, from the very young, covered by UNAWE, through secondary schooling and career choice beyond. A huge number of events are planned across Europe, so contributors are invited to share these exciting ideas and because much of the year will remain after the meeting, this is an excellent opportunity to learn from each other and gather new ideas for events in the latter part of the year. More information: http://www.jenam2009.eu

NASA's Great Observatories Celebrate International Year of Astronomy 2009: in conjunction with Galileo's birthday on Feb. 15, NASA is releasing images from its Great Observatories -- the Hubble Space Telescope, Spitzer Space Telescope, and Chandra X-ray Observatory -- to more than 100 planetariums, museums, nature centers, and schools across the country.: http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/146/

President of the Polish Republic, Lech Kaczynski, presides over the Polish IYA2009 Honour Committee. More info: http://www.astronomia2009.pl/2/index.php?id=3

Report on StarPeace event between India and Pakistan: On February 9, during a penumbral lunar eclipse, StarPeace connected two countries, Pakistan and India, together. Society of the Sun in Pakistan and Kutch Amateur Astronomy Club in India organized this event successfully in SOS villages of both countries: http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/148/

British 1894 Astronomer Royal becomes new Cosmic Diary blogger: The Cosmic Diary, has a new participant: Great Britain's Astronomer Royal from the year 1894, William Henry Mahony Christie. He will be joined by his two assistants, Herbert Hall Turner and Frank Watson Dyson, as they each blog in text and images about their lives and work at the Greenwich Observatory via the official website: http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/151/